Alexis K. Manheim

Alexis Manheim’s influences range from traditional sumi-e painting to ancient alchemy illustrations. The work is created amidst the seeming chaos that crawls up the walls and underfoot. She will burn through pigment – literally crushing it between her fingers on to the paper letting the powder run loose until it begins to interfere with the view of the piece.

Once sight of the work is lost, she will remove the dust and begin again until once more she has lost sight of the whole. There is always a tension between a precise and premeditated ritual of mark making versus the momentum of the session and the danger of losing control.

In the final moments she will apply black ink which serves as a sort of exoskeleton revealing a glimpse of order and adding depth to the composition. Alexis is rarely content with pure abstraction and habitually infuse her works with elements of ancient symbology and iconography that give the viewer something to grasp on to and a hint of what lies beneath.